I've also posted in the "Other" phobias forum, no responses. Anyone here suffer from a choking phobia. With me it 1st started with food but then it went on to liquids and now even my own saliva (!) I'm about to find a CBT/exposure therapist to overcome this. Anyone hear have a similar problem :?:

I've choked on things way too many times to count. The worst thing was when I was in first grade I was eating mozzarella sticks and the cheese got stuck in my throat...I pulled it out with my fingers (no matter how gross that sounds) it was better than choking. I've also swallowed things and them go down the wrong way and me not be able to breathe or it coming out my nose...none of it is fun, I don't blame you for having this fear.

In fact, its almost always related to a traumatic event coupled with a tendency toward panic disorder which is organic.

The phobia itself starts small and builds into a full blown lifestyle disaster because the person begins subconsciously projecting basic daily routines into cataclysmic anxiety situations.

The person should never blame themselves for this or feel guilt.

As far as choking on your own saliva, this is exactly the sort of "full blown" phobia in full attack. There's really nothing wrong with you. You're human, but you're suffering from an anxiety that you cant control.

By the way, "choking phobia" is not an irrational phobia. The need for air is the most fundamental human need: beyond water and food. The types of foods people initially "trigger" the phobia include hotdogs, popcorn, steak, etc........are actually common cases of legitimate choking.

When this kind of thing takes over your life, medication, therapies of various kinds, honesty, acceptance, and situational changes can all help.

By the way, I share these things because I suffer from the same phobia. I suppose that my phobia may be described not so much as fear of choking as fear of not being able to get medical help quick enough in the event that i choke.

Choking on food is becoming an increasingly regular occurence/ worry for me.

I particularly struggle on pieces of meat, when I'm stressed, and when I'm eating with people who are engaging me in conversation.

It is really scary when I have a particularly bad occurence, and for a few moments I find my throat way being completely blocked up.

Not only do I try to cover up my choking when with people (because of the embarrassment), I find myself worrying that one day I'm going to have a particularly bad occurence when I'm on my own, and I won't be able to unchoke myself.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. Dr Seuss

Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow'. Mary Anne Radacher

I had the same problem with you. It started at about the age of 10 from a traumatic event (while eating...). Some years later I developed an almost constant fear of choking from my own saliva.
But I was never afraid of choking from liquids. Actually when I was somehow "choking" while eating I used to drink a bit of water so that food could come all the way down. I could never eat without having a liquid with me.

Now (after 12 years) I feel quite better. The most of the time I am able to eat normally (without liquids).

A late post and slightly off-topic, but I didn't want to start a new thread...
Does anyone else have a fear/phobia of others choking? Mine's probably related to my emet; the sound of someone choking obviously sounds like vomiting...and yet I don't worry too much about choking myself, even though I fear myself vomiting more than other people. I wouldn't say it was a phobia - I don't avoid situations where people are eating or anything - but I do start to sweat and have heart palpitations when someone chokes. My mum has one of those coughs that start at the drop of a hat and so I spend a good deal of time panicking slightly when we have spicy food, etc.! :laugh:

I thought I was the only one! My rational mind knows that nothing will happen, but when it comes time to swallow my food I panic. I've started doing a little research. Most sights chalk it up to anxiety. I think for me it stems from a feeling of not feeling in control of a bad situation. I'd rather not pop pills, so I'm trying excercise and am going to start journaling. Good luck!

I HAVE THIS PHOBIA and I have NEVER thought anyone could EVER relate to me. I have been hospitalized before for it where I wouldn't even swallow my own saliva it was the scariest thing I have ever had to overcome. Somehow, I overcame it and I was fine for a couple of years but now it has resurfaced again full force, and I am scared to death I will start to become afraid of even liquids, because right now all I am living off of is liquids... and i am 18.

Has anything changed recently for you in your life? Like new job, new relationship... anything like that?

Thanks for the welcome
Well recently my mother has been going through her own legal and mental troubles and I have been kind of put on the back burner. I have also dropped a couple of courses in college and have been single for a few months, which I am usually not.

I'm new here, and as I was searching for Pseudodysphagia, I came across this site. My name is Beth, and I too have an unrational fear of choking.

I don't remember any choking incidents in my lifetime, ever. But I've had a choking fear for about 3 years. At first, it was just food. So I started only eating soups and noodles. Then it was liquids. I couldn't drink very well. It took me months to be able to take two drinks in a row of anything. It's getting to the point now to where I can eat faster. But I still only eat certain foods that I know I won't choke on. When I'm home alone or anywhere by myself, a lot of times I won't eat. Or I'll eat something that's easy to get down. But even noodles are challenging to me. I have to fight the fear. And if there are any loud, unexpected noises while I'm chewing, I'll instinctively swallow and start to panic (sort of). My heart will start beating really hard and I feel like I'm choking on my food. I never am, of course. I just have to calm down and swallow. Then wait for my heartrate to go back down until I take another bite.

I also have a fear of OTHER people choking. It's ridiculous!! If someone coughs and they have food in their mouth, I freak out. "Please spit your food out. PLEASE spit your food out." They never listen, but they never choke.

There was also an incident once.. Kinda funny in a way. I was at a big show with comedians and bands and magicians and whatnot. And there was a juggler who came up on stage and decided to juggle ping-pong balls in his mouth. As soon as I saw the ping-pong balls (without him saying what he was going to do) I knew what he was going to do. I folded in my chair, head between my legs, hands on my ears, humming as loud as I could. He would make noises like he was choking every once in a while. Eventually, I got so freaked out that I started rocking back and forth in my chair. I ended up crying. My best friend yanked me out of the auditorium so that I would calm down. It took me about an hour to stop shaking.

So, uh, yeah I need help. lol Are there any others out there who have gotten so kind of treatment? Do I need medication? Hypnotherapy? Or just plain counseling? lol I dunno what to do. Like I said, it's getting better. But I'm still afraid. And it still affects my life, but not as much because I'm learning how to work around my fear. SSSOOOoooo.. lol If anyone has gotten help, what did you do, did it work, and how much did it cost? lol

It seems fear of choking is not all uncommon - tho not many who have this fear have described a particular choking event that triggered the fear.
There seem to be frequent similarities with choking fears to emetophobia and eating disorders.

Every now and then I do a random off the wall 'theorising' - and choking (in the absence of a choking experience) is not one I've done... so this will be one of those "now" times.

Anyone reading - take what makes sense (if anything) and use it - then discard the rest.
And please feel free to critique my 'theory'.

Let's start with something obscure - and bring it round....

Agoraphobia and Social Phobia - are forms of phobias that seem underpinned in fears of being 'caught out' or 'unaware' - they are fears of being away from a "place of safety" - a sense of no retreat or no escape.
One thing strikes me as universal in these and that is the sense of 'control' over not just the environment, but also those around us and of ourselves.

But does it always come out in 'social anxiety'?

Most times we don't "fear" other people - but situations; how we might react to them and what might the outcome be.

Choking is perhaps a more "serious" form of internalised sense of 'loss of control' in the sense that we know, if we were to choke for real, it has a potentially serious consequence - and onset can be instant.
Importantly, it also requires no one but yourself to set the scenario.

So is a fear of choking any different to another fear?

Could a fear of choking be a result of low self esteem? Coupled with a fear of "loss of control" over the situation? Just as in Social Anxiety - but manifested in a different way?